By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-07-22 10:47:05 | Updated at 2026-07-22 11:44:14
1 hour ago
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stepped up the pace of renewal of his cabinet on Wednesday by confirming two acting ministers and reinstating a former minister who was defeated in 2020 but won in last year’s poll.
Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam was promoted to senior minister, joining the ranks of former leader Lee Hsien Loong. Shanmugam, a senior counsel, entered politics in 1988 and has helmed the home affairs ministry since 2015.
Shanmugam is the first senior minister to concurrently hold a portfolio and the first to have the title without having served as deputy prime minister or prime minister.
Labour chief Ng Chee Meng has been reinstated in cabinet as minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, after losing his MP seat in the 2020 general election and returning to parliament in the Jalan Kayu single seat in 2025.
During the reshuffle last year, Wong indicated that Ng could be included in cabinet but Ng asked not to be in government to focus on his duties in Jalan Kayu and as the labour union chief over the next five years. Wong said then that Ng’s exclusion was temporary and expressed hope to include him into the line-up soon.
Wednesday’s reshuffle also saw transport chief Jeffrey Siow and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo appointed as full ministers, among other portfolio changes and promotions, local media reported.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry will also be renamed as the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, and will be helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and former manpower chief Tan See Leng.
During a press conference for local media on Wednesday, Wong said the cabinet changes balanced experience and youth.
